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Tree Removal Permits in St. Pete Beach, FL
What St. Pete Beach's own code says about removing a tree, the Pass-a-Grille wrinkle, and where the dune rules take over.
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Here is the whole answer up front. In St. Pete Beach you need a city permit to remove any tree 3 inches DBH or larger, or any palm 8 feet or taller, on any property, anywhere in the city (LDC § 22.11). The fee is $25 per tree, with real exceptions: dead trees, transplanted trees, and Category 1 invasives pay no fee but still need the permit. Permits are valid for three months from issuance (§ 22.12(b)). The rules live in Division 22 of the Land Development Code, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-01, adopted January 27, 2026, and the Parks Division administers them: 727-363-9245, 7701 Boca Ciega Drive.
A simpler code than St. Petersburg’s or the county’s, but with three traps: a separate dune vegetation permit carrying misdemeanor exposure, a rule making it illegal to leave a hazardous tree standing, and a threshold low enough that nearly every real tree on the island qualifies.
What needs a permit, and why "it’s an invasive" doesn’t skip it
The trigger is size, not species. St. Pete Beach keeps no protected-species list: any tree measuring 3" DBH, single or multiple stems, measured 4½ feet above grade (§ 22.11), and any palm 8 feet or taller is covered. Three inches is a young tree. Assume the tree in front of you needs a permit and you will almost never be wrong.
The code does name nuisance species, melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, carrotwood, chinaberry, Chinese tallow, or anything listed by the Florida Pest Plant Council (§ 22.4(d)), but being on that list does not waive the permit. The city’s own permit form is explicit: FLEPPC Category 1 invasives still require a permit "for species verification", the city wants eyes on the tree before it comes down, they just pay no fee and trigger no replacement (§ 22.12(d)(6); form p.2). The form’s no-fee list: Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, carrotwood, chinaberry, Cuban laurel (Ficus microcarpa), woman’s tongue (Albizia lebbeck), and any FLEPPC Category 1 species.
One review factor worth knowing: whether a tree is a historic or specimen tree, "of notable historic or high value to the city because of type, size, age or community association" (§ 22.12(d)(3)).
The fee, exactly
From the city’s Administrative Guidelines: $25.00 per tree, no fee for transplanted trees, dead trees, or FLEPPC Category 1 invasives. Card payments add 2.5%. One note: the $25 comes from the city’s own form and guidelines, while § 22.14(a) points to a fee "set forth in Appendix A", a table the city does not publish online. If the two ever diverge, the city’s counter wins, call 727-363-9245.
How the application actually works
Written application goes to the city manager with the fee (§ 22.14(a)). The city’s form adds the practical requirements:
- A site sketch or survey showing the trees.
- The trees must be physically marked before you submit, city staff come out and inspect the marked trees. That is the whole review: the city does not require an arborist report for a standard permit.
- The applicant is the owner or an authorized agent with proof of agency. Contractors must be registered with the city, we are.
- The permit is valid three months from issuance (§ 22.12(b)).
No review timeline is published for the tree permit, the 10-day figure belongs to the dune permit below, not this one. And a drafting quirk we report as-is: § 22.11 says the permit issues "in accordance with section 22.13," but as codified § 22.13 covers relocation of trees by the city; the permit mechanics sit in § 22.14. It changes nothing about what you do, but if you read the code yourself, that is why the trail jumps.
The state-law route, and how this city handles it
Section 22.14(a) opens with five words most tree codes lack: "Unless preempted by state law." St. Pete Beach wrote the accommodation for Florida Statute § 163.045 directly into its permit section (the section’s history includes Ord. No. 2019-18, the year the statute arrived).
The honest version: on qualifying residential property, an owner who possesses documentation from an ISA Certified Arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect, assessing the tree to the ISA Tree Risk Assessment (TRAQ) Best Management Practices, 2nd Edition, and finding it poses an unacceptable risk, may remove that tree without the city permit, the fee, or any replanting. The paperwork is the exemption; without it in hand before the cut, you are back under § 22.11. Note the inversion: the city never asks for an arborist report on a standard permit, but the state exemption runs entirely on one. It is the owner’s instrument, not the city’s. The full statute page covers the conditions and where this route fails people.
Replacement rules, with a built-in waiver
If your permit requires replacement, § 22.12(e)(2) sets the math, due within 6 months of issuance:
- A removed native tree must be replaced with a native species.
- Removed trees 4" DBH or smaller: one replacement each.
- Removed trees larger than 4" DBH: two replacements each.
But replacement is not required if your lot already meets the minimum tree counts of §§ 22.4/22.5, a sliding scale of 2 to 8 trees by lot size (§ 22.5(a)). On a small, well-treed beach lot, that waiver applies more often than you would guess. And there is no tree fund or pay-in-lieu for removals here, the § 22.6(b) in-lieu payment exists only for renovation landscaping.
Two rules that have nothing to do with removal
Topping is banned. Pruning must follow ANSI A300 standards, and "the topping of trees is prohibited" (§ 22.10(d)). A crew that offers to top your oak is offering you a code violation.
Leaving a hazard is itself unlawful. § 22.12(g) makes it illegal for an owner to allow a damaged or injured tree to remain standing "when the tree creates and constitutes a hazard endangering the life or limb of any person or surrounding adjacent property." Most cities only regulate cutting trees down. St. Pete Beach also obligates you to deal with the dangerous one you are ignoring.
Mangroves are out of the city’s hands entirely: removal only per F.S. §§ 403.9321–403.9333, the state mangrove act (§ 22.12(a)).
Start here
Send us a photo of the tree.
You do not have to know whether it needs to come down. That is the part we are for.
- One photo, whole tree in frameTrunk base to top. A close-up of anything that looks wrong helps.
- Text us the photoThe text button below opens the right thread. Add your street and city.
- We come out and lookEvery estimate is in person, free, sometimes the answer is that it needs nothing.
The dune vegetation permit, the one that carries real teeth
Sea oats, sea grapes, and the rest of the dune line are covered by a separate Dune Vegetation Trimming Permit from the Beaches Division (727-363-9216), its own $25 fee, with a published 10-day review. Its limits are strict and worth reading twice:
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Trimming window | March 1 – October 1 only |
| Which plants | Only plants taller than 6 ft |
| How low | Never below 6 ft in height |
| How much | Max ⅓ of plant height/foliage per year (≤2 trims/yr within that cap) |
| Dead material | Stays unless it is a safety hazard |
| Before work | FDEP approval records required in hand |
| Oversight | Pre- and post-inspections through the Beach Manager |
Violations run through LDC § 25.00.00 and F.S. §§ 161.053–161.054, fines up to $5,000 plus restoration, and the state-law violations are a second-degree misdemeanor. Nobody should touch dune vegetation for a view corridor without this permit on the wall.
Pass-a-Grille: what historic review does and does not touch
People assume the historic district regulates their trees. It does not, there is no tree-specific historic review in Pass-a-Grille. Certificates of Appropriateness attach to construction, additions, moving, or demolition of designated resources (§ 28.8(a)) and to setback-encroaching additions to contributing structures in the PAG Overlay (§ 28.8(b)); historic designation itself is owner-voluntary (§ 28.19(1)). Trees enter the picture only alongside a building project: a COA site plan must show proposed landscaping (§ 28.8(d)(3)), and the overlay’s standards include one understory tree per 20 lineal feet screening elevated buildings (§ 20.21(b)). Removing a tree on a Pass-a-Grille lot is the same § 22.11 permit as anywhere else in the city.
After the storm
Routine yard-waste rules: branches cut to 4 feet or less, no piece over 40 pounds, 2 cubic yards per day at the curb, and landscape contractors haul their own debris, so what we cut, we remove. Excess loads go through Waste Connections special pickup (727-572-6800). In a declared disaster, the city switches to a FEMA-approved Disaster Debris Contractor: vegetative debris goes unbagged at the curb, collected in multiple passes. No cut-off dates are currently published, the city’s Helene/Milton debris page last posted a daily report in December 2024, so after the next named storm, check the city’s page for live rules rather than trusting anything written beforehand, including this.
The penalty
Cut without a permit and § 22.14(b) charges "twice the cost of the original permit or $100.00, whichever is greater." Modest next to the county’s per-inch fines, but the county layer has its own new 2026 article, and for $25 and a marked tree there is no reason to be on the wrong side of either.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for a dead tree in St. Pete Beach? Yes, but it costs nothing. The permit is still required; the Administrative Guidelines waive the fee for dead trees. And remember § 22.12(g): if that dead tree is a hazard to people or neighboring property, leaving it standing is itself unlawful.
Do I need a permit to remove a Brazilian pepper or Australian pine? Yes. Category 1 invasives require a permit "for species verification," with no fee and no replacement. The city confirms the species before the cut, it does not take your word for it.
How long does the permit take? The city publishes no review timeline for the tree permit. You mark the trees, submit the application with a site sketch, and staff inspect. Once issued, the permit is good for three months.
Will I have to plant replacement trees? Only if your lot falls below the city’s minimum tree counts, 2 to 8 trees depending on lot size (§ 22.5(a)). If it doesn’t: native replaces native, one-for-one at 4" DBH and under, two-for-one above 4", within 6 months.
Can I trim the sea grapes blocking my Gulf view? Only with the separate dune vegetation permit, only March 1 – October 1, only plants over 6 feet, never cut below 6 feet, and no more than a third of the plant in a year. Outside those lines the exposure runs to $5,000 fines and a state misdemeanor.
Can Happy’s handle the permit? Yes. We are registered with the city, and as your authorized agent we mark the trees, file the application with the sketch, meet the inspector, and schedule the work inside the three-month permit window. Call (727) 365-1803.
Verified against St. Pete Beach LDC Division 22, codified through Ord. No. 2026-01 (adopted 1-27-2026), the city’s Tree Removal Permit form and Administrative Guidelines, and the Beaches Division dune trimming application, as of July 2026. Codes change; Ordinances change, if a detail matters to your decision, confirm the current text with the city first.
Need the work done, not just the permit? See tree service in St. Pete Beach and tree removal in St. Pete Beach.
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Reviews · Tree Removal Permits in St. Pete Beach, FL
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“We were looking for a tree service with a certified arborist. We got just what we needed with Happy Tree Service. Steve gave an estimate and knowledgeable advice. They arrived on time did an excellent job and cleaned up all debris. We recommend them and will use them again.”
“Happy trees did an amazing job cutting my trees and providing information. Steve was really nice and knowledgeable. Great communication and pricing. Definitely will be using their service again!!”
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